I don't know how well it would work for you, but dropping back to the smaller 18 lb thrust Watersnake or Sevylor would allow you to run a much smaller (read lighter) battery and might not lose that much in total speed over the 40 lb model. That little 18 pounder will push nearly any of my kayaks at 3+ MPH.

Although I have something entirely different on my PA, I once tried it on there and it even pushed the PA at around 3.2 MPH. Not too shabby considering the small size and light weight.

I use a "mart cart" 35 amp hour battery. I think it weighs about 26 pounds. I can run the 18lb motor wide open for about an hour and a half with it. On low it'll do almost 3 hours. Of course this is going to vary with how much stuff you have on the boat and the conditions you're working against.

My Adventure, touted by Hobie (ad nauseum) as it's "fastest" boat, has a reasonably decent length/width ratio---8.9, compared to my old Revolution at 5.6 w/l, and 4.3 for the Outback, which feels a bit of a dog to pedal or paddle. In my youger days (I am 70) I did a lot of expedition touring on the west coast of Vancouver Island in a Current Designs Expedition, at 18ft 10 inches and 20.5 inch beam, a really efficient hull, w/l of 10.4, putting it in the "very fast" category, close to w/l ratio of a racing hull.But that boat was pretty twitchy (low initial stabiity) especially when paddled empty of cargo. Oddly, the difference in pedalling effort between the Revo and Adventure does not reflect the substantial difference in w/l ratio----the Revo is a real achievement. I miss its stability, it is a great boat.

So the Adventure should present a pretty reasonable load for a trolling motor, compared to beamier/shorter boats. I want to be able to run "upcurrent" a mile or two in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, under power, perhaps assisted by pedalling, and will be towing a deep diver with a flasher and spoon. Only a trial with the 40# will give me some idea of what to expect in terms of run time and speed. Ideal trolling speed for king salmon is about 2.5mph. If anyone is using a motor for trolling in Puget sound or similar, I'd love to hear from you!!

The trade off you're likely to run into, is that your 40 lb thrust motor will draw more current than a smaller motor, meaning you'll have less run time, or, you'll have to carry a larger (heavier) battery which itself requires more battery drain to motivate.

On my larger boats, I've found the "sweet spot" to be a 30 lb thrust motor and a 35 amp hour battery. I don't get more speed with a higher thrust motor, just less run time. This set up offers about the best of all worlds, at least for what I do.

The little 18 lb thrust model is more of a "helper" to bring along at very little weight penalty. Since I don't primarily rely on electric motor power on most of my kayaks, it's just a nice little package to have just in case you do need it.

Having said all this, you just have to experiment to see what set up is going to give you the best all around characteristics for what you're doing.

I sold the 40# Minnkota today for $125, just the right $ to purchase the 30# Endura from Amazon, should have it by Weds and will bolt it to the Kirkman rodholder mount, we'll take it for a spin in Puget Sound and see what's what. I'll be in the dry suit, water temp off Vashon Island is now 43 degrees!!!

Salmon season opens in the marine area on the 16th, hope there's some salmon around.

I hoped the new video would better show the clamps that attach the trolling motor shaft to the PVC. I have been to the hardware store looking for something similar to that clamp but no luck. How does the clamp secure to the PVC? What the clamp looks like before you install it in the PVC would be helpful and where did you get the clamps?

_________________PA12 DuneThat is why they calling it fishing and not catching.

The new video shows the clamps in their entirety. The very first image details them front and center. I don't know what else to show - there isn't anything else there. The clamp looks the same, both before and after you fasten it to the PVC.

The clamps are standard conduit stand-off clamps. Any decent hardware or home improvement store is going to have them. There's a little hole in the back of the clamp. Put a machine screw through there and a lock nut on the back. Most will take a 1/4-20 screw or bolt. That's all there is to it.

I think once you get a couple of them in your hands everything will make perfect sense.

One thing I was going to add, was that the first prototype I made had the motor on the rear end of the mount. This was a more structurally sound design for several reasons, plus it put the motor closer to the stern and nearer the hull centerline.

However, it placed the motor a bit too far from the operator and thus required a separate control box for use in the cockpit. In the end it became obvious that the current configuration was more than sturdy enough to do the job and greatly simplified things. And if it'll work on the big Tandem Island, then it'll work on any other Hobie kayak.

I read your "AS PROMISED" post after reading this one. You did a great job explaining that clamp and the setup. I do not remember seeing a blunt faced cap to mount the clamps on the PVC, all I could find were oval or rounded caps, but I will keep looking.

_________________PA12 DuneThat is why they calling it fishing and not catching.

I've seen both types of caps and obviously you'll need the flat one. It comes down to what brand of PVC fittings a particular store carries. They even differ among the popular home improvement stores. Home Depot only has the rounded end caps while Lowes has both the rounded and flat types. Even this might differ from one geographic location to the next. But the flat ones are available. You'll just have to check a couple or three stores to find them.

It would be a lot faster. But it's also a lot more complicated and not easily adapted to most kayaks. This one was something I developed for a buddy that just wanted to use a regular electric trolling motor on his Outback and didn't want to spend a fortune or have to make modifications to his boat.